Canfield has committee surplus

Planning and Zoning: (five people, three-year terms). Two of the five people have been in place for 16 and 14 years.

Design Review Committee: (five people, four-year terms). Two of the five people have been in place for 24 and 22 years.

Civil Service Commission: (three people, six-year terms). One person with 32 years service.

Park, Recreation & Cemetery Board: (six people, six-year terms). Three people have been in place for 17, 13 and 11 years.

Income Tax Review Board: (three people, three-year terms). No one has more than two terms.

There are two people on the Cardinal Joint Fire District, but this is not a city commission.

These commissions normally meet once a month. Members are paid $35 for the meeting. (One meeting a month maximum paid). The Civil Service and Income Tax Review Board usually meet as needed.

Why are there so many people with such extended times in these positions? How do people get appointed to these positions? In some cases, special qualifications may be necessary such as the Civil Service Commission. But, it appears that the remainder are “good old boy” appointments by city council.

Candidates are not solicited nor is there any public notice that there is a vacancy coming up.

At the end of 2012, there are six people reaching the end of their current term.

Planning and Zoning: Two.

Design Review Committee: Two.

Parks, Recreation & Cemetery: One.

Income Tax Review Board: One.

Now is the time for persons interested in one of these openings to submit a letter to clerk of council. Let’s bring new people with fresh ideas and enthusiasm into service for the city.

Frank A. Micchia, Canfield

We’re down to one inviolate day

As a husband of a wife and mother whose job is a retail associate, I must ask “What happened to the joy of the holidays?” Must you greedy retailers and consumers have the precious things you want for Christmas on a holiday? They can’t wait until the normalcy of the 9 a.m. shopping day?

I speak for all these families who want to stay home and have their precious family time with their loved ones. Holidays are meant to be spent this way. Nowadays both the husband and wife have to work and the holidays are the only time that they get to spend together. Retail associates have understood that they at least get Thanksgiving and Christmas off to spend with their families, but now it looks like it just Christmas. Is Christmas going to be next?

What happened to society that we have become so greedy? Remember when the stores were closed on Sundays and people attended church? There was no Black Friday and you shopped 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week. Twelve hours isn’t enough for you to get what you need? Come on, people, you really help these corporate retailers get greedier and greedier by patronizing these stores on holidays and them paying their associates little pay. Don’t get me wrong; I’m thankful my wife has a job, but where are these corporations’ and consumers’ “family values?”

O. Ray Callihan, Niles

No fear of the ‘fiscal cliff’

Regarding the so called “fis- cal cliff,” I believe that we should do nothing and go over. The reason for this is that the fiscal cliff is not a cliff at all. There will be no collapse of the government or of the economy as we saw in 2008. What will happen is the reduction in federal spending will bring about a true recovery.

The Republicans demand that the fiscal cliff be avoided because it would raise taxes and cause drastic defense cuts across the board. The Democrats cannot let extended unemployment benefits expire or allow a myriad of other domestic spending cuts.

Both parties have engaged in fear mongering on this front. However, fiscal tightening is exactly what we need in the long term. The Congressional Budget Office has said in a recent report that that fiscal tightening will cause a recession early in 2013 and a slight increase in unemployment. After 2013, “economic growth will pick up, and the labor market will strengthen, returning output to its potential ... and shrinking the unemployment rate to 5.5 percent by 2018.”

Moreover, the CBO said that “if all of the fiscal tightening was eliminated, the economy would remain below its potential and the unemployment rate would remain higher than usual for some time [and that] a continued surge in federal debt ... would raise the risk of a fiscal crisis.” Avoiding tightening would “eventually reduce the nation’s output and income below what would occur if the fiscal tightening was allowed to take place as currently set by law.”

With fiscal tightening the economy will truly pick up following 2013 and we will see real recovery. Without fiscal tightening, we will continue borrowing money at such a rate that we end up like Greece — under austerity.

I would undergo fiscal tightening if that means true spending cuts and a reduction of the deficit. I’m thinking about my children in 20 years, not about myself today.

Jeffrey S. Moliterno, Esq., Canfield

Musing over Kasich’s comeback

It’s been just over a year since the furor over Senate Bill 5 reached a crescendo, culminating in a resounding defeat of what many termed Gov. John Kasich’s signature piece of legislation, thanks to a voter referendum. Public and private sector unions joined forces with the Democratic Party to deliver an overwhelming veto of Issue 2 (SB 5). The governor’s approval rating stood at 35 percent.

Fast-forward to Oct. 29, 2012. A Vindicator piece stated that Ohioans polled had given Gov. Kasich a 56 percent approval rating — a 20 percent jump in a year’s time. How can it be?

One theory is that following the 2011 election, those in the governor’s inner circle reined him in a bit. Perhaps they felt his slouching, finger-jabbing appearance, coupled with his smug, arrogant demeanor was not an image Ohioans were warming up to.

Regardless, even though the debate over SB 5 was highly emotional and dominated the headlines, there were many other moves by the governor and the GOP controlled legislature that showed his fealty to special interests and his indifference to the ordinary citizens of Ohio.

Is it possible that 56 percent of those polled approved of Gov. Kasich’s refusal of $176 million in federal aid earmarked to extend jobless benefits, provide jobless benefits, provide job training, and help children of those who had lost their jobs?

Did they approve of a $700 billion cut from the public school funding, forcing cuts to curriculum, busing, causing teacher layoffs, and pay-to-participate for extracurricular activities, while expanding aid to charter schools?

Did they approve of a $340 million cut in nursing home care, while offering Sears a $400 million incentive package?

Did they approve of the governor cutting the budget of the Ohio Consumer’s Counsel by over 50 percent? The OCC acts as an advocate and lawyer for homeowners and renters in disputes with utilities. They are not funded by tax money, but by an assessment on utilities, which must be approved by the legislature. Is it just a coincidence that utility lobbyists are members of the governor’s inner circle, including ex-Kasich congressional aide, Donald Thibaut, AEP lobbyist?

Did they approve of redistricting overseen by the governor, perverted to the extent that 51 counties, 108 townships, 55 cities, and 41 wards were unnecessarily split up, a process carried out in secret in a Columbus hotel room?

I can only hope that that particular poll was an aberration, and that peoples’ memories will serve them better before the next election.